Tectonic Plates
by guilea
Summary: The plan was in place, just taking a break from the preparations to have dinner with a friend. Aqua and Aeleus, two caretaker types, sharing an evening of pleasant company. Fluff, Pre-KH3, Crackship, One-Shot, Aquaeleus, Aqua x Aeleus, Complete, Collab with ChaosFox.


I _t was slightly embarrassing._

 _The way she shuffled Ven and Terra out the door. Go get some ice cream, interact with the townspeople, you boys have fun now—_

 _The way she debated over changing into something more formal, then casual, then formal, eventually deciding to forego her fluttering sleeves and gloves. She would be cooking, after all—_

 _The way she had fussed over the recipe, weighing delicately the complexity in tandem with the ease of cooperation. Was this one too difficult? She didn't want it to seem as if she had no concept of what she was doing—_

 _The way she practically teleported as she bolted across the house, cleaning up after the other Wayfinders, making the house as presentable as possible. With how clean the Radiant Garden Castle always looked, she had to make sure it looked as if she ran a tight ship—_

 _It was all... rather embarrassing._

 _This was nothing to be in a tizzy over. It was simply a nice evening with a friend. And here she was, making a spectacle of herself. Keyblade Master indeed._

 _She gently tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear, letting out a slow breath. Deep blue looked over the ingredients laid out neatly on the island, like a television program. Had she over-prepared? Had she under-prepared? Stop, stop. Relax._

 _This would be fine, and so would she. The muscles in her shoulders eased, and she sighed, calming herself._

 _And thus, the doorbell rang._

* * *

Aeleus looked inside his closet in Radiant Garden, eyes narrowed as he scrutinized every piece of clothing he owned. He didn't want to appear too casual, nor too dressed up, and wearing his uniform was completely out of the question. He knew they were going to be cooking, and should probably go with something that was still presentable but he wouldn't mind getting dirty.

He sighed as he finally found a plain white dress shirt, nothing too fancy, and black jacket. Simple, but still showing he didn't just throw on the first clean clothes he saw, even if the idea of doing so was never on the muscular man's mind. Plus, casual clothes may help the young master feel more at ease with Aeleus. After all, he had always been in uniform around her before.

He picked up the journal holding his recipes from off the bed and made his way out of the room towards the front door. Unfortunately, it required passing by the lounging area where the other residents of the Castle were currently residing. They all gave him raised brows or slacked jaws seeing the stoic man in something other than his uniform or sleep wear.

He quickly stated he'd be back later tonight after his business was attended to, and that they should continue interacting with the users while he was gone before he left the Castle.

He already heard the whispers as he exited and could have sworn he heard Lea snicker to Ienzo, "Looks like you may get another parent soon."

Aeleus sighed and shook his head as he made his way down the streets. This wasn't a date like the others were so keen on thinking it was. This was the sharing of cooking ideas. Just cooking with Aqua, nothing more. Aeleus could concede that the blue haired woman was quite attractive, and that she was an admirable fighter as well. She was capable, mature, and wise. Aeleus admired and respected her as an individual. The fact that she was just as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside to Aeleus didn't automatically mean anything romantic.

Okay, the way he did describe her was romantic in nature. But they were on the precipice of war and there would be no time to indulge themselves in anything resembling a relationship, even if Aqua had any feelings for the guard.

Yet here he was, in front of the house the Wayfinders were taking refuge in, in the outfit he had spent an hour choosing, holding a journal of recipes he had spent most of the night before picking out.

Aeleus shook his head to free himself of those thoughts as he rang the doorbell, a pit of nervousness settling into the large man's gut against his will.

* * *

 _The chime filled her ears. It was like having her tension re-inflated like a balloon about to burst, shoulders all-but jettisoning back up into their stressed position._

 _"Just a moment!" she called toward the source of the bell, trying to slow her hurried steps. Long fingers delicately rested on the doorknob. A soft breath left her lips, and she turned it, pulling the door open and lifting her gaze._

 _Ocean blue traveled up the broad expanse of her friend's chest. White and black, dressy, but modest in comparison to the guard uniform that usually adorned his body. He admittedly filled out both the uniform and dress shirt rather well. The training they'd discussed was far from a secret, clearly._

 _He had a small book (a journal?) in hand, she assumed his recipes. She smiled slightly at the thought of him jotting things down, making revisions in another color pen, having a legend in the top corner… She could certainly see it._

 _Finally, she let her eyes travel the rest of the way up— she imagined it must be nice for him, that she was so tall, she didn't need to lift her gaze too far— a soft smile filling her features as her shoulders slipped into a more relaxed stance._

 _"Aeleus. Glad you could make it. Come in, please, don't be a stranger."_

* * *

Aeleus nodded his head at Aqua's words and waited for the blue-haired woman to open the door. Once it was, Aeleus only needed to tilt his head down lightly to see her. Soft hair delicately framed her face, and she seemed to have forgone the embellishments of her usual attire, showing more skin. Admittedly it was a much more practical thing to do, they were cooking. Though without the frills, the clothes she wore definitely showed her figure much better. Though some would say she looked delicate at first glance, Aeleus can see the trained muscle on Aqua's body.

Making sure to keep eye contact, Aeleus offered his own soft smile in return to Aqua's, "Greetings Aqua. I am glad you could have me."

Aeleus stepped into the house and took a cursory look around. The place was indeed nice, smaller than the Castle, but Aeleus thought it more welcoming that way. His eyes caught ingredients neatly organized on the island in the kitchen and smiled.

"I see that everything is already in order." Aeleus nodded approvingly as he turned towards Aqua. "Good thinking of organizing the ingredients ahead of time. It shall make teaching each other and cooking a lot easier."

* * *

 _She nodded, replying with a soft hum of agreement. One arm rested across her torso as her shoulders relaxed, her other hand gesturing as she spoke, gaze shadowed slightly with residual nervousness. So far, so good._

 _"Thank you. I thought having everything laid out would make it easier to see and work with. I made sure to gather everything we discussed as well as some of my personal spices," she punctuated her sentence with a soft gesture, hand flicking gently toward a few jars with hand-written labels._

 _The labels were white on black, in a clear but feminine handwriting, giving the various colored powders, flakes, and shards in the tiny clear jars a purpose. Cardamom, Coriander, Hungarian Paprika, Cumin, Juniper..._

 _"As much as I like following a recipe, there's nothing quite like adding cardamom to something sweet. One of my favorite discoveries when it comes to cooking," Aqua's eyes glittered alongside her delighted explanation, before she offered an apologetic smile. "Ah, I'm rambling. Forgive me."_

* * *

Aeleus looked over the jars carefully as he picked on up and examined the text. Aqua's handwriting was as neat and beautiful as the man thought it would be. His writing, while not bad, was larger than Aqua's and a bit blockier too; neat cursive, though it was sloppy at some points.

He listened as Aqua went on with rapt attention when he turned back to her. The way her lips were turned up into a smile and how her beautiful ocean eyes sparkled as if the stars were reflected in them caused Aeleus to smile contently himself. Her delight was rather... cute.

When Aqua stopped talking and apologized, Aeleus shook his head, "No need for apologies, Aqua. I happen to agree with what you are saying. Sometimes some recipes need a little more something to make the dish feel more complete. I enjoy hearing you talk about your own cooking discoveries."

* * *

 _Aqua took a moment to re-compose herself and smiled. "Thank you."_

 _It was... sweet. She felt a slight racing in her pulse at his words. Aeleus' gentleness was something she often found herself forgetting existed in others. Between her rough-and-tumble brother-sister relationship with Terra and motherly nurturing toward sweet, playful Ven and fierce fighting pride in her title... it wasn't often she had such pleasant company._

 _"Now, shall we get started? Tell me," a playful tone rang in her voice as she placed the wooden cutting board on the countertop. "Do you want to play with the knives or should I?"_

 _It was merely... comfortable. Nothing more, nothing less. Expectations nudged aside in tandem with the loosening of their shoulders as they spoke. This was going far better than expected. He was quite knowledgeable, and she couldn't help but smile at the confirmation of her suspicions… the different colored pens used to make notes and additions to the recipes in Aeleus' book._

 _Their comfortable conversation eased to equally comfortable silence after a short laugh, and Aqua spoke again, raising her eyes to him as she stirred a boiling pot absently. "Question for you, if I may."_

* * *

Aeleus chuckled at Aqua as he took the knives and they got to work. It was... nice, to say the least. Aqua's tender, polite attitude was much different than those that stayed at the castle where everyone was very loud or rude. Aeleus cared for them, but sometimes the noise and chaos was too much. So having someone as composed as Aqua in his company was a very welcome change, despite some nervous energy in his heart from being so close to her.

Aqua was quite good in the kitchen. She had good ideas on how to improve and was skillful with the utensils she used. Aeleus watched her as she cut up in vegetables and laughed lightly at the joke she had made. He blushed lightly at Aqua's own honey-like laughter before turning back to his own job in the kitchen and they soon went into contented silence.

After a while, Aqua spoke and Aeleus turned to the blue-haired woman from where he was mixing some ingredients to add to the pot, "Of course you may ask."

* * *

 _Her stirring hand slowed as she pieced together her words. She knew so little about this, and the implications of the subject. "Ienzo was still very young when the two of you became Nobodies. Six years old, I believe, yes?"_

 _It had been ten years of his life, the most recent ten. Surely the subject of Nobodies wasn't too horrible? After all, everyone seemed rather receptive to Roxas, Naminé, and... ah, her name always escaped her._

 _"Did you care for Zexion the way you do Ienzo? You take on a very fatherly role in his life now, I find myself curious how you two were as... I hope I don't offend. It is all very new territory for me."_

* * *

Aeleus froze at the question and stopped mixing the ingredients. His time as a Nobody huh? He personally didn't like to think about that. But he accepted as a part of his life, though it was indeed a painful decade. He set the bowl down and began forming his answer.

"I did care for Zexion as a father, as much as a being without emotions could," Aeleus answered after a minute. "Maybe it was my memories of watching over him before being a Nobody, but I did treat him as my own son then yes."

Aeleus paused again as he thought over his next response, "He was the only one I could trust in the Organization. Everyone had changed so much when we became Nobodies. Even Vexen didn't care for Ienzo anymore once we formed the Organization," Aeleus sighed. "Maybe I was just trying to cling onto my memories, on not being something that truly never existed by looking after Zexion. I probably did it to form some constant in my life. Something that wouldn't truly change. To make me still feel... Human."

* * *

 _Aqua smiled gently. "You're a good man. That much seems to have never been at risk of changing. It's a level of admirable that I hope I can one day match."_

 _Even under the circumstances, Aeleus had tried to care for Ienzo. Well... Lexaeus for Zexion, which was in a way... even sweeter. She felt a tug at her chest as she recalled the way her hand had gently pet Ven's hair as he slept. She wanted to picture a gentle hand for young Zexion too._

 _"Your strength is admirable. To hold on to anything that kind for as long as you did without a heart... Zexion was lucky to have you. I find myself dwarfed by your company," she laughed. "The quality thereof, not sheer size."_

* * *

Aeleus blinked in shock. Did Aqua just call him a good man? He looked down at the bowls and shook his head. This coming from the Keyblade Master he heard did everything in her own power to save her friends.

"I have to disagree with you on this, Aqua," Aeleus said, looking back into Aqua's ocean blue eyes. "You had spent ten years in the Realm of Darkness, holding onto the hope that you would one day see your friends again and never succumbing to the darkness," Aeleus placed a hand over his heart. "As a Nobody I had, in a way, given up on the light inside of me. I had given into the nothingness and did some atrocities as a Nobody. The only good thing I did was be there for Zexion. It is I who is dwarfed by your company."

* * *

 _With a quiet laugh, she smiled up at him. "Your humbleness does little to disprove my praise, but I'll take your word with a grain of salt. Speaking of—"_

 _She leaned smoothly over his arms to grab the salt shaker on the other side of Aeleus, falling back onto the balls of her feet gracefully as she flicked a small amount into the pot._

 _"—there we are. And Aeleus, no one is truly infallible. I nearly gave in to hopelessness when I was trapped in the Realm of Darkness... but while your heart was lost, you still didn't abandon Ienzo or Zexion. It's a disservice to him and yourself to minimize how noble that was."_

 _A soft hand rested on his bicep, head tipping with a tender expression gracing her features. She let out a small, quiet breath, meeting his gaze with gentle pools of blue._

 _"You are a good man, Aeleus."_

* * *

Aeleus watched as Aqua leaned over and took the salt, as graceful as ever, listening to her words intently. He supposed she was right in that no one is truly infallible, everyone has moments of weakness and have made their fair share of mistakes. Even someone as fair and strong as Aqua isn't invincible to everything. Her words truly set some ease in Aeleus' mind.

He looked down once a gentle hand fell onto his bicep. He gaze upwards until his eyes met that of a calm lake as blue as the sky gazed into his own. His breath caught lightly at the soft expression on the Master's face.

He placed his own large, rough hand atop Aqua's small, soft one as he gave the blue-haired woman a smile, "Thank you Aqua. I am truly touched by your words."

Aeleus picked up the bowl of ingredients, moved it above Aqua's head. Though not nearly as graceful, the muscular man leaned forward and poured the contents of the bowl into the pot.

He leaned back and gave another gentle smile, "But do remember to not sell yourself short. You are a wonderful woman, after all."

* * *

 _A light flush filled her cheeks, a flutter in her chest spreading like a Firaga— warmth shooting from her chest outward and creeping up her neck._

 _"Thank you, Aeleus. That means quite a bit, coming from you especially."_

* * *

Aeleus shook his head and smiled at Aqua before setting off to work on the next task they had planned. The muscular man could not see why Aqua could not see her own capabilities like he can, but he supposed one's self was a person's worst critic.

"I only speak honestly."

* * *

 _They returned to their rhythm with minimal hiccup. The pot being stirred, tools and ingredients shuffled as they worked in tandem. The pair slid effortlessly from comfortable conversation to comfortable silence, both equally at ease. She laughed at a few poorly-constructed jokes, making a playful jab at their "dad-esque" delivery._

 _Clean plates and bowls sat on the counter in preparation for serving, and Aqua's eyes scanned their accomplishments, eyes glittering with satisfaction. Nearly everything had turned out right, with the exception of the poor, forgotten casserole, forever scorched and inedible._

 _It had been admittedly convenient to have Aeleus' height to fan the smoke away from the alarm... Though the awkwardness and apologies had fairly quickly turned to laughter as they devised ways to weaponize the burnt rock that once would have been considered vegetables._

 _She turned to Aeleus once more, meeting his gaze, playful, almost mischievous light swimming in her eyes. Fluid, graceful, she slid up onto her toes— she had more than enough practice in her armor, it was almost more comfortable to stand on them— and placed a swift kiss on Aeleus' cheek._

 _"Pardon my boldness," she said quietly, lowering herself to the balls of her feet once more. "Shall we try some of this out?"_

* * *

Aeleus was quite surprised, in a good way of course, how well the two seemed to work together. They moved and glided around one another in a silent dance as they cooked. Sometimes they would break the silence for amiable conversations and a few jokes. Aqua laughed at a few of his and teased their "dad joke" status, to which Aeleus only replied in a shrug and chuckle of his own. He couldn't help but feel his heart beat a little faster in his chest when he heard the soft laugh of his companion, something that seemed more enticing then the food they were making.

Aeleus smiled when they were done and began washing his hands. Everything turned out well until the casserole caught fire and the two had rushed to stop it. Aeleus stopped the smoke from hitting the alarm and setting off the sprinklers (which would effectively ruin all of the two's work), while Aqua put out the fire.

Oh well. The two had gotten a good laugh out of it and even devised a way to use it as a weapon in battle. If Aeleus threw it hard enough at someone, he could easily knock them out, even if he aimed for the arm.

He walked back and examined their work with pride. They hadn't gone through everything in his journal, but they could save that for another time. For now, they could focus on what they had and try some of the food for themselves, probably returning to their pleasant conversation from before.

Aeleus turned to Aqua, about to suggest something along the lines of trying the dishes together when he noticed the playful look on her face. In a quick moment, Aqua had gotten on her toes and kissed Aeleus on the cheek, causing warm heat to spread along his neck and cheeks.

He nearly missed what Aqua said but nodded dumbly as he turned to the food hoping to hide his blush, "No need for a pardon. Yes, let us try this food."

Aeleus took a few slices of the meatloaf they made and put them on a plate before handing it to Aqua. It felt like his heart was pounding louder than the drums used during festivals as he took a glance at the ocean blue eyes. The blue eyed man could still feel where the Keyblade Master kissed him as he cut his own slices of meatloaf and resisted the urge to touch that spot in case he came off as rude.

* * *

 _With each passing moment after the kiss, she found her heart racing faster instead of easing. There was an air of nervousness that had crept into their bodies as they sat and ate. She felt a pang of guilt as the loss of that comfort began to set in._

 _She lifted her gaze to him, the residual redness in his cheeks matching hers. "I apologize, for earlier. I didn't mean to cause this awkwardness, I simply—" her shoulders slumped slightly, an almost physically uncomfortable position in contrast to her typical confidently erect posture._

* * *

Aeleus stared down at his plate, not moving to make eye contact with Aqua. The beating of his heart never stopping no matter how much the muscular man tried to will it back to its normal, probably healthier, pace. His body felt tenser than when he first started his rigorous training and the heat from his cheeks refused to leave despite the room's cool temperature.

He was startled when Aqua spoke first and looked up at the blue-haired woman. He was shocked to see the awkward posture and tomato-red face. Aeleus realized that he may not be the only one that felt awkward after the kiss, and he mentally berated himself for not trying to even attempt to ease the tension between them sooner. What kind of warrior was he if he backed down from a bit of awkwardness?

"Please do not apologize," Aeleus shook his head as he folded his hands before him in an attempt to reclaim his composure. "I was simply caught off guard is all. I did not expect a beautiful woman such as yourself to kiss my cheek."

* * *

 _"Ah—" she found her flutter to be almost instantly bubbled out by a bell-like laugh. "I don't mean to—" another laugh, her shoulders perking as she put a loose fist to her lips. "I'm sorry, we're both so serious over such a small thing, it's... adorable?"_

 _She laughed again, the tension in her body unwinding as she giggled. It was ridiculous, after all. They were adults. Had she forgotten? She thought herself past her flustered teen years, but she supposed that if anyone could revive them, it would be the sweet-hearted gentleman she was sharing the evening with._

 _"I don't mean to laugh at you, of course. But look at the two of us. A Keyblade Master and Castle Guard... blushing like nervous children."_

* * *

Aeleus soon let out his own deep laugh in agreement to Aqua's words. They both were acting like high school students bumbling around with their feelings, getting embarrassed over something like a small peck on the cheek.

"You are right," Aeleus' laugh turned into a light chuckle. "I thought my blushing days were put behind me but I guess I was proven wrong," he gave a small, soft smile at Aqua. "It does feel nice to actually feel like this again and enjoy laughs like these with such pleasant company. I suppose both of us know what it is like to not experience that in a while. Thank you for this, Aqua. This is one of the nicest nights I have had in a long time."

* * *

 _A soft smile crept onto her face as her laughter melted away. "I... have to agree. Thank you for joining me."_

 _The gentle rhythm of the night continued, to where even cleaning up the kitchen afterwards and wiping sweat from her brow at a counter-well-scrubbed left her feeling lighter._

 _This was the kind of night she had given up hope on before she took her Mark of Mastery. Each exchange of a smile, laugh, or quip... those moments filled her with warmth until she felt she might overflow._

 _A deep blue gaze shifted from Aeleus to the clock behind him, her comfortable lean against the counter straightening slightly._

 _"Is it that late already? I didn't mean to steal you away for so long..."_

* * *

"Hmm," Aeleus hummed as he looked up from the plate he was drying and at the clock as well. Blue eyes blinked in surprise at the time. It was quite late and it still felt like the muscular man had only just gotten there. "It certainly is. Do not apologize though, you can't steal the time I so willing gave you. Though I should head back, I fear that Lea may have set the castle on fire. Or worse, Even."

Aeleus chuckled at the thought of the offended Even if the blonde man heard him say that as he finished drying the plate and putting it away gently. He picked up the open journal he had brought that now had both his and Aqua's handwriting in it. He looked over the writings with a fond smile, his heart fluttering as it sent small streams of warmth throughout his body.

He tucked the journal neatly under his arm before turning back to his blue-haired host, "This was a truly wonderful night Aqua. I do hope we could have another one of these in the future."

Aeleus was about to make his way towards the door but stopped when an idea struck him. It caused his heart to pound again and heat to rise from the base of his neck, but his body was already moving back towards Aqua. He supposed it was a good enough idea, it was best to return the favor from earlier after all.

The larger of the two leaned over the counter, and with slight hesitation, kissed Aqua on the cheek before straightening and smiling into beautiful sapphire eyes, "Again, thank you for the wonderful time and enjoy the rest of your night, Aqua."

And with that, Aeleus turned and walked out the door, giving one last smile before he left. Once he closed the door behind him, he sighed and placed a hand over his rapidly beating heart, a blush capturing the entirety of his chiseled face. Perhaps it was too bold, but Aqua did start it so he supposed it was fair.

He shook his head, what's done is done and Aeleus would have to live with it now. Whether the consequences were good or bad. He stayed looking up at the star-filled night sky as the cool air touched his skin. Hopefully he could get this blushing under control before he made it back to the castle.

* * *

 _A light press of lips to her cheek, a quiet farewell, a loss of breath, time losing her once more..._

 _And when the whirlwind was finally quelled to silence... she looked down at Ven, curled up beside her with his fluffy blonde head in her lap, soft breaths of slumber from a long day coming from beneath the hand running through the spikes._

 _Perhaps... they could do this again._

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **I hope you guys liked this, it's a weird ship. Aquaeleus is not my #1 Aqua crackship but it's up there now. Thank you so much to ChaosFox for writing the Aeleus side of things, you are such a precious dad.**


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